City Demands Warrant in FBI Investigation

The Newton Tab ^ | January 25, 2006 | Dan Atkinson

[Jim Noble]

If the terrorist incident was real, you can bet the Newton city officials would blame Bush for not preventing it. Their conduct was disgraceful.

[JLS]

What expectation of privacy does anyone have on a PUBLIC ACCESS library computer? Someone should have been arrested at that library.

[MeanWestTexan]

None, of course.

[Just another Joe]

So three hours after the threat was made they managed to trace the e-mail path.

And they still expect the perpetrator to be sitting there?

[Wasanother]

What happened to the 72 hours after the search?

[jjmcgo]

This is the same place where parents, other members of the public and the media were excluded from a gay-indoctrination session targeting their kids in the high school.

[doc30]

It all goes back to the NSA 'domestic wiretapping' story. They wanted to stand up to the facist imperial stormtroopers and uphold vital civil liberties, even if someone gets killed in a terrorist attack. Liberals disgust me.

[jonascord]

Liberals think terrorists are some kind of petty criminals, not irregular combat troops of a hostile foreign power.

[Agent Smith]

I really hate to say this, but I think they were absolutely correct in demanding the warrant.

[Concho]

Well, there goes their Federal grants!!!

[Paul_N_Lakeside]

How would you feel if the threat turned deadly and hundreds of Brandeis University students were MURDERED?

What if information obtained in those ten hours would have prevented the senseless killing of innocent Americans?

The terrorists need no warrant. At the very least, the 72-hour rule should apply.

[massgopguy]

Was Mayor Cohen an Agent Provocotuer?

[ozoneliar]

I really hate to say this, but I think they were absolutely correct in demanding the warrant.

Either it was a lawful search or it wasn't. If it was an illegal search then the library was absolutley right for demanding a warrant.

[CrawDaddyCA]

I totally agree with you. What some people here fail to realise is that once 'the authorities' start demending, and receiving, info without a warrant it will never stop.

Kudos to the library for following the law.

[Wasanother]

We have to go back to the word "reasonable". They should get a warrant if time allows but most jurisdictions allow for reasonable searches and seizures without a warrant if time is of essence but all officers involved must sign an affidavits assuring the court that time was of essence and then the judge will rule on "reasonable".

[jazusamo]

Had there been a loss of life, the Mayor and the library official could have taken solace in knowing they were right, DEAD RIGHT. Of course they would have been alive to tell everyone how they stood up for everyones right to privacy. Complete Idiots!!!

[Grut]

I really hate to say this, but I think they were absolutely correct in demanding the warrant.

Agreed. The police had already determined that there was no public danger ("While police reportedly didn’t find anything threatening after evacuating 12 buildings at Brandeis and a nearby elementary school..."). There was no reason to not get a warrant first.

[mysterio]

I don't find their conduct disgraceful. I see no reason the government cannot get a warrant if it wants to search. It is made very clear in the fourth Amendment. This Amendment, like all of the others, is able to be modified by a new Amendment. If you wish the government to be able to conduct warrantless searches, pass another Amendment.

[beltfed308]

I agree completely. They had 2 hrs to get a warrant as they were tracing the e-mail address. Most the time they are rubber stamped anyhow.